Nail Tech Secrets

 
I am heading out for Fedora - my hubby has dug his heels in against the currently “oh so popular” black polish, but I am going to keep trying with this one, a nice dark chocolate cool brown.

The Swedish Medical Center in Seattle has offered up this simple instruction on how to wash your hands - a frequently overlooked thing that can not only save your life, but can help your polish stay on a very long time too!

Wash your hands frequently — and always after using the restroom, changing a diaper, [...]

You probably don’t know this yet about me, but I am a huge stickler for sanitation, made even more paranoid about it because of my husband’s near fatal battle with MRSA last year. One of the truly great reasons for doing your own nails is the avoidance of bacteria that will thrive in a [...]

Brand and color are your preference. I have found that if you use a quality base coat and a quality top coat, then you can use whatever brand of colored polish that you choose. My preference is Jessica or OPI, but truly, just about any of them will do. Make sure that the polish [...]

For polish removal–gauze is best, paper towels are second best. Gauze is sometimes hard to find, but well worth it. Sometimes you can find them in the local beauty supply, or your local drug store in the first aid section, but it is easier and most economical to order them on the internet from a [...]

Unless caught in a desperate situation, I always purchase pure acetone at the hardware store, in a metal can, available in all different sizes. This has many uses around the home; a gallon can be a money saver. I store what I am using in a pump style plastic container which can be purchased at [...]

You can use an old crock pot (with a warm setting, do NOT use one with only one setting), or a small potpourri warmer (even one with a candle, if you remember to start it up early enough), both available at most grocery stores or a kitchen specialty
shop. You can even use a microwavable bowl, [...]

You will use the Tupperware style container to disinfect your tools either after you have used them, or before the next time (often easier, especially if you forget to disinfect them BEFORE you polish your nails). This will also be where you store your tools, so they don’t get bumped around and lose their [...]

The pump spray bottle is for convenience of using your cuticle remover (Blue Cross, will talk more about that shortly). Any size is fine, but all you really need is 2-4 oz. An empty travel size pump hair spray bottle is perfect. The small spray from this size bottle is the perfect size [...]

A scrub brush can be purchased anywhere from the local beauty
supply to the grocery store to the hardware store. The choice is your
preference, I have no specific recommendations here.